Inferior labial artery
Arteria labialis inferior
An offshoot of the facial artery running along the lower lip between its muscle and lining, supplying the lip.
At a glance
- English
- Inferior labial artery
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteria labialis inferior
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the inferior labial artery
The inferior labial artery comes off the facial artery on the face, beside the corner of the mouth. It is the smaller of the two labial arteries; the superior labial artery leaves the facial artery a little higher up and supplies the upper lip.
From its origin the artery passes forwards and somewhat upwards beneath depressor anguli oris (the triangularis of older books). It then enters orbicularis oris, the ring muscle of the mouth, and runs along the lower lip close to its free edge. Its course is winding, which lets it stretch as the lips move. It lies between the muscle and the mucous membrane on the inner surface of the lip, closer to the lining than to the skin. In some people the inferior labial artery is replaced partly or wholly by a branch from the submental artery or by a horizontal branch running lower down near the chin.
It supplies the tissues of the lower lip: the labial glands that keep the mouth moist, the mucous membrane of the inner lip and the muscles of the lip, including orbicularis oris and depressor labii inferioris. At the midline it joins the corresponding artery of the other side, completing an arterial loop with the superior labial arteries around the mouth. It also links with the inferior alveolar artery's mental branch, which emerges from the mandible below the premolars, and with the submental artery.
Because the artery lies on the inner side of the lip, a deep cut through the lip bleeds freely from both ends, and pressing the lip between finger and thumb on each side of the wound controls the bleeding. Its position near the lining must be known when lip fillers are injected or when the lip is operated on, to avoid injury or blocking the vessel. Its rich supply allows full-thickness lip flaps, such as the Abbe flap, to be swung across from one lip to the other.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Facial artery, beside the corner of the mouth.
- Ends in
- Ends at the midline of the lower lip by anastomosing with its fellow; also links with the mental and submental arteries.
- Supplies
- Supplies the labial glands, mucous membrane and muscles of the lower lip.
Anthromica
See the inferior labial artery where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
